Opportunity continues to brew inside Highland Park’s Curt’s Cafe

On the surface, Curt’s Cafe is your typical neighborhood cafe: inviting art on the walls, comforting music in the background, and hot coffee and scones atop the menu.

But behind the counter in its two locations (Highland Park and Evanston), it is also a classroom, a support center and, increasingly, a second chance.

This year, Curt’s Cafe Highland Park, 1766 2nd St., began training incarcerated young adults through a workforce readiness program designed to build hospitality skills and open the door to stable employment. The expanded programming builds on a mission that already included GED tutoring, crisis support from social workers, and a growing slate of community events.

Curt’s Cafe is known for its work to support youth (15- to 24-year-olds) who are living in significant at-risk situations. The participants may have experienced homelessness, dropped out of school or been incarcerated.

Curt’s Cafe’s workforce readiness program trains high school graduates for roughly 500 hours and high-schoolers on Saturdays only. The program, which takes about a year to complete, teaches front-of-the-house skills, such as greeting customers, making espresso drinks, and serving and checking on tables; as well as back-of-the-house skills, such as preparing food alongside executive chef Byron Gonzalez, who educates the students on culinary technique, knife safety and more.

The training results in skills that are not just restaurant exclusive, said Niki Moe, Curt’s Cafe’s director of development.

“They learn skills that apply to any job such as teamwork, showing up on time, being reliable and following instructions,” she said. “We also teach financial literacy.” 

Supporting the team

Many who begin with Curt’s Cafe have experienced trauma, and to support that, the cafe employs social workers. 

“We provide full-time social workers at both of our cafes to support any student that might be in crisis,” Moe said. “We address trauma, anger management, conflict resolutions and teach crisis management.” 

For the currently or recently incarcerated, Curt’s Cafe offers the opportunity to leave with fresh job skills and an updated resume that “will hopefully make it easier for them to secure employment,” Moe said. 

The idea to help incarcerated young adults came from Curt’s Cafe Executive Director Susan Trieschmann, an advocate for racial justice and equity. She thought at-risk youth lacked positive role models and, to help in that area, opened Curt’s Cafe in Evanston in 2012 and in Highland Park in 2019.

Trieschmann interviewed many young people hoping to learn what they could use to move forward. She heard the same thing over and over: a job.

A criminal background can be a barrier to employment, but Moe doesn’t think it should be that way. 

“I think that everyone deserves a second chance,” she said. “The difference is when we did something stupid, we had a softer landing: caring parents. These young adults don’t have a soft landing; they have nobody, nothing. So, I do believe that they should have a fair opportunity to secure employment.” 

Curt’s Cafe receives employee referrals from parole officers, the state’s attorney, school social workers and word of mouth. Haven Youth Services also provides referrals. Moe said potential employees are told that the Curt’s Cafe program is an opportunity built on accountability.

Since 2012, the cafes have honored 750 graduates.

Curt’s Cafe graduates have gone on to reconnect with family, continue their education at schools like Oakton College, earn their GED, find housing through organizations like Connections for the Homeless, and gain employment at places like Warehouse Exchange, C&W Market, Laundry Cafe and Burl. 

“The companies that will invest in our graduates know what they are getting into,” Moe said. “They have the patience, the heart to keep them employed and teach them right from wrong.” 

The cafe also supports the legal needs of incarcerated and recently incarcerated youth, helping to get records expunged, among other things. While it doesn’t always work, a partnership with the Moran Center for Youth Advocacy helps.

Making the grade

The cafe also brings in tutors, such as Dan Paschen, a recently retired New Trier High School math teacher who helps Curt’s Cafe students pass their GED. 

Paschen taught at New Trier for 34 years and has been tutoring at the cafe since its inception in 2012. He also volunteers to do handyman work in the cafe.

“When I was a teacher, I taught a lot of students who weren’t so good at math, and I just had an affinity to connecting with them,” Paschen said. “I have been able to have that same affinity with some of these students as well.” 

Taking the next step, whether that is a job, the military or something in between, is difficult without a GED, said Paschan. And sometimes just participating in the program is meaningful, since many of the students would otherwise be in a difficult environment. 

“At one point we had a young adult who lived on the L,” Paschan said. “And I thought, there’s no way he’s opening his book on the L. Walking around their tough neighborhood with a GED book – I don’t think it sells.” 

A typical tutoring session with Paschen starts with him asking where the student would like to begin. Then, he likes to get a sense of the student’s academic base, using a pre-test and then reviewing the answers. 

Paschen likes to offer tips, urging students to use the specific calculator mentioned on the test and to focus on reading through the math problem.  

“If you are a slow reader, you won’t pass. Reading is everywhere in the test, even the math word problems,” he said, adding that if a student is a slow reader, he suggests more formal schooling. 

Another key to GED success is trust in the tutor and belief in the self, Paschen said.

Studying at Curt’s Cafe is different than in school. Paschen said there is no expectation of homework through the cafe — and for good reason.

“At the cafe, a student goes home and you don’t know what they’re going home to. So, there isn’t the expectation that they go home and do the homework,” Paschen said. “I never try to make them feel bad about not doing the homework. They’ve had a lot of negativity in their lives.” 

He added, “I would be telling them, ‘you’re doing well, we can get this.’ Or, ‘you got all the way there, just be careful at the very end.’ It’s always a positive response.” 

Curt’s Cafe has other tutors as well. One who is a retired volunteer teaches branding, including how to build and update resumes, create an account on LinkedIn and succeed in a job interview. And another teaches art therapy, as an outlet, especially when students experience crisis.  

And tutors like Paschen and company can provide more than just school lessons. 

“We go off the subject of tutoring sometimes and just talk about life,” he said. “If they have too much in their mind or shut down or become disengaged, we stop.” 

‘A major door that opens’

Students from the cafe mostly come from Waukegan and Chicago, and the Highland Park’s location is accessible by car, bus and train.

And when they get to Curt’s, they know that someone is there to support them, whether that person is a tutor or manager. 

“I think when somebody graduates and gets their GED, that’s a big deal for them,” Paschen said. “It’s a major door that opens for them and people will definitely congratulate that student.” 

Curt’s Highland Park is also planning to extend its hours to 5 p.m., rather than 3, to accommodate high school students seeking a safe after-school space to hang out and complete homework. 

Upcoming events at Curt’s Highland Park include Curt’s Carnival on March 24, an Earth Day High Tea, and a Mahjongg event. The last high tea in December brought 40 people, Moe said. She said the events are opportunities for the community to learn about and access the cafe. 

As a nonprofit, Curt’s Cafe runs on grants and donations, whether from local dogooders, volunteers or churches. Moe said Curt’s Cafe is always in need of more donors and volunteers to help students obtain their GED and driver’s licenses and run student support groups like anger management, conflict resolution and attend bi-monthly cultural excursions. 

Find out how to get involved at the Curt’s Cafe website.

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